


The Third Princess

by potatogoblin1359



Category: Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:28:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23478490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/potatogoblin1359/pseuds/potatogoblin1359
Summary: The world seemed to forget that the continent was home to three princesses. After magic fell, the people forgot about the princess in the north. It was safer for them to believe the fires of Terrasen died with its princess. After magic fell, the people forgot about the princess in the south. It was safer for them to believe the royal family was left alive on accident. After magic fell, the people forgot about the princess in the middle. It was safer not to remember at all.What if Dorian had a twin sister? What if she was locked away when magic fell?HELLA SPOILERSI will follow canon for the beginning of this story. I will diverge from canon at some point due to the nature of the original character insertion.
Kudos: 5





	1. The Fall

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time writing fanfiction. I have been an avid reader of fanfiction for a very long time and finally came across a story that I loved enough to change. I have been muddling over this idea for a few days now and with the current COVID-19 pandemic, I have had plenty of time to think. During the last week, I finally decided to begin putting this story down on “paper”  
> If there are any suggestions please feel free to leave a comment! If there are any errors in editing, grammar, and spelling, please let me know as well!

I cried when magic fell. I felt the earth shudder in terror as the clock tower was finished. I had been playing with Dorian and Chaol in the garden. I fell to the ground as the shockwave passed by me, the air itself rippling. I was on my knees, my hands pressed into the gravel, my breath catching in my throat.

“Deanna!” Dorian called as he jogged to my side, “Are you okay?” he breathed as he helped me to my feet. Chaol arrived at my left and frowned as he noticed the tears welling in my eyes.

“What happened?” he asked, “Are you hurt?” Chaol worried as he looked at my dusty skirts. I shook my head no, the tears heavy on my eyelashes. I wouldn’t cry, not around them. I thought.

“I fell...” I trailed off looking at the ground, “when the sky shook.” I finished as I looked at Dorian. My brother, still holding my hand, looked back at me. His blue eyes questioned my sanity as he searched my face.

“The sky didn’t shake.” He squeezed my hand, “Are you okay?” He asked again. I shook my head, pulling my hand from his. Looking up, I noticed no birds. How strange. I mused. 

“I’m fine,” I said as I dusted myself off. I stuck my tongue out at my brother and bolted towards the fountain. “Catch me if you can!” I called over my shoulder, parts of my hair had pulled out of its braid and now pieces of it streamed behind me. Almost like a dark flag. I darted to the other side of the fountain and stopped short when I saw the royal guards coming towards us.

“Princess, you need to come with us,” Jeffery said as he gave a short bow. Jeffery was the head of my personal guard, he always came to my rescue when I needed him. I nodded and turned to go tell my brother and his friend that I was leaving.

“Now princess, your father demands your presence.” He looked sad as he said it. Fear shot through my veins. Father never demanded my presence. Not after what happened in the north. Father barely looked at me now. At dinner, he acknowledged me only when Mother commented on the state of my dress.

“I’m scared, Jeffery,” I whimpered as I took his outstretched hand. The sky seemed to darken. As if I had unknowingly spoken my fears into existence. He squeezed my hand gently as he led me through the castle. Down corridors, away from the throne room. When we passed the royal chambers, I started to shake.

I didn’t know where we were in the castle. I knew the glass castle stood atop the stone portion we were in now. These stones were new, built to support the mountain of glass above it. I felt cold, shivers causing my lips to tremble. The air felt wrong. The stones beneath my feet felt wrong. The light coming from the torches felt wrong. The heat from the torches was sinister, not comforting as they usually were.

“Jeffery,” I whimpered, “this is wrong.” I tugged at his hand.

“It’s going to be just fine princess,” he reassured, pulling me along as my rear guards pushed in closer to us, almost boxing me in. We finally stopped at a door.

The door was metal. It looked like what I imagined the door to the dungeons looked like. I was being punished. The dark thought flashed in my mind. My heart rate increased, beating faster in my chest. Sweat started pooling on my lower back as I was dragged closer to the door. It was wrong. The door was wrong. It swung open to reveal a bedroom. My heart sank. I was pulled inside and the door closed behind us.

“Daughter,” my father, the King, spoke from the chair he sat in. “This is your new room.” He gestured around the room. Something sparked in his eyes, something cold. I bowed low, anything to get the feeling of his eyes off of mine. I was afraid he would see the fear reflected in my eyes.

“Yes, Father,” I spoke to the ground, “Can I return to playing with Dorian and Chaol, Father?” I asked, wishing to leave this place. The wrongness continued seeping from the walls. I looked up to meet his gaze, the silence had gone on too long. I risked a glance at Jeffery, his face was stone. His eyes. His eyes were drowning in guilt. I looked back towards my Father.

“This is your new room,” he repeated, the glint of something still in his eyes. “You are no longer allowed to leave.” He stood then, his height made him tower over the room. He strode past me, barely glancing at the tears streaming down my face. He turned when he reached the door, nodded to Jeffery and strode down the hall. The guards at the door saluted as he passed them.

Jeffery commanded the guards to enter the room. I couldn't understand what he said as the weight of my Father’s words bore down on me. The guards stood in front of me, perhaps introducing themselves. I was lost in my mind, the room was suffocating. The room was wrong. The walls were wrong.

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. WRONG. I screamed and ran towards the door. I had to get out. I had to leave. Jefferey yelled and the door slammed shut. I hit the door, my body bounced backward and I rushed forward again. The metal burned my skin when I touched it. Jefferey pulled me away and cradled me in his arms. I thrashed. My arms and legs were soon pinned to my body.

“It's for your own safety, Princess,” Jeffery said slowly, over and over again. His voice eventually calmed me. I was exhausted. My throat hurt. My skin burned. My head throbbed. Everything was wrong. I felt the fear rise in my throat again.

“Princess,” Jeffery softly stroked my hair, “It’s going to be okay. The King is doing this to protect you.” He reassured me. I didn’t know what my Father could possibly hope to protect me from. I fell asleep then, Jeffery calmly stroking my hair. The situation had taken its toll. I drifted into a dreamless sleep.

I awoke sometime later, the curtains around the bed had been drawn. I sat up and pulled them open. Glancing around I saw a young woman sat by the fireplace. Her brown hair was pulled up into a bun as she looked down into her lap. The bodice of her dress was plain, the woman was probably my new nursemaid. She didn’t notice as I slipped off the bed and made my way towards her. Jeffery watched me sneak, a grin on his face. He knew my tricks well at this point. Knew what I was up to.

“What are you reading?” I said softly into the woman’s ear. She jumped and dropped the book.

“Your Highness!” She gasped, clutching her chest. She quickly recovered from her fright and dropped into a curtsey. I ignored her and looked back towards Jeffery.

“How long was I asleep?” I asked him, walking around the chamber. It wasn’t as large as I thought it was earlier, but it had multiple hallways leading to different rooms.

“Only a few hours, princess.” He answered slowly, looking at me worryingly. I knew he was making sure I was okay. I am the Princess of Adarlan, I will not be afraid. I thought to myself. I pushed my fears down and looked about the room. I had the bed on one side of the long room, a fireplace on either side of the chamber. I looked towards the far wall and saw a single doorway. Towards my left, I saw another doorway, this one a double door with ornate molding. I was in the bed-chamber then. The room I saw before must have been the main living area of these chambers.

“Jeffery, how large are my new rooms?” I asked as I strode to the smaller doorway, passing the fireplaces and the couches.

“Rather large, princess.” He replied, his voice getting quieter as I walked away from him. I stopped in the doorway to my new wardrobe, it was larger than my old one. There was another doorway on the far wall, this one blocked by a thick curtain instead of a door. I pushed through and was greeted by a large bathing chamber with a deep tub dominating the room. It was well stocked with all my favorite bath oils and soaps and shampoos. I turned and walked back into the bed-chamber, nearly walking into the nurse-maid as I slipped through the thick curtain.

“Apologies, your highness,” she dropped into a curtsey, mumbling to her shoes. I continued to the bed-chamber, stopping in front of Jeffery.

“She has to stop, Jeffery. She’s going to drive me insane.” I commanded; my hands on my hips. I glanced over to the double doors, not willing to go back to that room. The metal door came unbidden to my thoughts. I shivered and walked back to my bed.

I climbed into the large bed and pulled the curtains closed. The tears came quickly after that, they slid down my cheeks. My new chambers were large, perhaps larger even than my mothers. A princess with rooms larger than the queens. I laughed, the sound sharp in my ears. The opulence couldn't hide the fact I was being kept in a cage. The iron door was the only thing that belied that fact.

I was nine when magic fell. I was nine when my father locked me away. I was nine when the people forgot about their princess. I always wondered if it was for my safety or for theirs.


	2. The spider web

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So far the formatting on this site has been an absolute nightmare to figure out. If anyone has any tips about learning basic formatting language, please share it with me! I’m also going to be trying to make each chapter longer than the first one.  
> Not a whole lot of dialogue this time around, but hey, we gotta orient ourselves somehow.  
> This next chapter is going to have some time skipping in it. I clearly marked it. This will set up our princess’s role in the castle of Rifthold and the world beyond.

The first week of my solitude, I spent wandering. During my wanderings, I stumbled into the servants’ quarters. They were provided with everything that they could possibly need, or so they told me. The kitchen was large enough to feed everyone, with a rather large dining table. The servants’ quarters had separate bedrooms for each of my caretakers as well as a large bathing chamber. It was the third day when I officially met all those who were locked away with me.

There were five of them in total. A guard, a gardener, a cook, a nursemaid, and a boy whose sole purpose was to help the others. Jeffery was still the head of my personal guard, he was the only member of my guard I saw now. The rest were left to guard the hallways leading to my chambers. This I knew because Jeffery told me when I asked. The head of my guard wasn’t anything remarkable to look at. Brown hair and eyes complimented his skin, tanned from all the hours spent outside training. He was a tall man with broad, muscular shoulders. The training he underwent to maintain his place as head of my guard was rigorous.

The nursemaid was named Natalia, she was to be my companion and lady-in-waiting. She was only a few years older than I was and already, she was beautiful. She had luscious brown hair that fell almost to her waist. I was only slightly envious. Her eyes matched her hair, and her skin wasn’t overly tan but she wasn’t pale either.

Her mother Caralina, was the cook. She was a plump woman, as all good cooks were. Her size and age were truly the only things that distinguished her from Natalia. Her smile was contagious, even if it was forced. Her Husband, John was to take care of the courtyard and all the plant life within it. He was an average man, of average height, with brown hair and eyes. The son, Kalvin, followed the same pattern. They were definitely related. When asked what he was in charge of, Kalvin just shrugged.

It was many years later that I realized the whole family was locked away with me. Kalvin didn’t have a job in the beginning because he was only there to keep his family in line. The idea was that, if the family was all here, they would have no need to leave very often. This would then limit the chance of my whereabouts being leaked to the public.

It was a week after I met them that I realized that I was the only one forced to remain in these rooms. They each were given a different day off to see to their needs. Jeffery had no day off that I could tell, but he was able to come and go as he pleased. The family had every other day. Every other day one member of the family left before dawn and returned after the sun had set.

Onc I realized they could leave, I began asking them favors. Small ones at first. I asked Caralina to get the ingredients to make my favorite dessert. Natalia was tasked with fetching a new book for us to read beside the fire. Soon I was asking them to gather information. Kalvin gave me valuable access to what my brother and Chaol were up to. Kalvin would train with the guards on his days off, sparring mainly with Chaol and getting glimpses of Dorian. Chaol was progressing rapidly with his training, and thoroughly trouncing Kalvin any chance he got. Dorian seemed sad and distant, never picking up a blade while Kalvin was around.

TIME JUMP - 2 Years Later - 11 Years Old - TIME JUMP

As I grew older, I began to take advantage of my captivity. I had my servants wrapped around my fingers, though they were more family than servants at this point. Natalia and I would lounge in the courtyard for hours, bathing in the sun. She would braid our hair as I read aloud, both of us thankful for the library housed within the prison. We spent hours together every day, learning as much as we could together. Whenever Kalvin would have a spare moment, which was often, we would beg Jeffery to train use. Kalvin never had to beg, but it took months for Jeffery to approve of a princess wielding a weapon. After a few months of training, Jeffery said that I was passable; for a girl.

My new family brought me every scrap of information they gathered. They would even meet with whomever I asked them too. I used them to build a spy network. Jeffery was the one who first put the idea into my head.

“Princess, would you like me to check up on Dorian for you?” He asked quietly one day as he readied himself to enter the real world. I looked up from the book I was reading, the flames of the fireplace danced in front of me as I considered his proposition. The flames held my gaze in a trance as the jumped from log to log. My eyes were locked on those dancing peaks, I couldn’t look away. My back was still facing Jeffery when I answered.

“Every time you leave,” I said slowly, quietly, “I do not wish to be cut off from the outside.” The flames danced even higher as I pictured the world outside my walls.

“Yes, princess.” I heard his clothes rustle as he bowed. The heavy sound of the iron door closing followed soon after. The fire flared once more before I broke from my trance. I shook my head and looked to my left where Natalia sat. She looked concerned as she peered at me.

“Magic fled, princess.” She spoke hesitantly, her face pale as she dared to look into my eyes. “Your eyes were fire, princess.” Her body had started trembling at some point. Her hands shaking as she pushed slowly off the couch to stand away from me.

“Natalia, there was a reason why I was locked away.” I looked at her sadly, my only choice for a friend was standing in front of me, terrified. I could see the wheels turning in her mind. She was thinking of what the King of Adarlan would do to all of us when he grew bored of me.

“It’s inconsistent and weak,” I assured her, returning to my book. If I don’t make a big deal out of it, she won’t either. I needed her. I needed her to not be afraid of me.

She took a deep breath and slowly sat back down. Her hands only trembling slightly as she fixed her skirts. She seemed to come to terms with something as she nodded slightly to herself.

“Who else knows?” She asked quietly, no longer looking at me.

“The King, Jeffery, and perhaps Dorian.” Her breath hitched at my response. She thought my father would lock me away without knowing I had magic.

“Enough Natalia, We’ll talk more when Jeffery comes back.” I cut her next words short as I slammed the book shut. I wasn’t in the mood to read anymore.

TIME JUMP - ? Years Later - ? Years Old - TIME JUMP

I had contacts all throughout the castle and down into Rifthold. The self-proclaimed King of the Underworld, Arobynm Hamel, even relied on the knowledge gathered by my spies. I sat like a spider in Rifthold, nothing happened in the city without my knowledge. I kept tabs on everyone I cared about. The easiest to keep tabs on was Dorian, he was always down in the city whoring around. I even heard when he crossed paths with Adarlans Assassin at a masquerade party.

She was an interesting person. From what I could tell she was nothing before Arobynn picked her up after magic fled the land. Arobynn also wouldn’t tell ay of my people where he found her. Celaena Sardothien was incredibly young, even though the majority thought she was an older woman.

By the time I was fifteen, I had a spy network that stretched all the way to Eyllwe. I had a hunch that the person in charge of their rebellion was the princess herself. I had no information to definitively say Nehemia was the face of the rebellion, but I didn’t have any information that said she wasn’t either.

I had spies spread across the continent and I was beginning to put contacts into place in Wendlyn. I was an independent knowledge broker and the price of my information was knowledge. There was only so much I could learn from the dusty books of the palace library. I demanded to be paid in skills. The skills would be taught to whomever I desired, but they would all eventually make their way back to me. I had claimed many skills as my own, but I soon learned of a type of magic that still worked. Wyrdmarks. I also caught whispers that Eyllwe was the home of the last few who knew how to wield it. Specifically the royal family.

I began increasing the rapport I had with the Eyllwe rebellion leaders. I knew eventually they would seek information that was too expensive for normal skills. Especially since I had been dropping hints about the Princess of Adarlan for years. My father’s men had been effective at squashing all mention of me, but I was able to incite rumors of my existence to the Eyllwe rebels. I was still reeling from the news that Celaena Sardothien had been tried and sent to Endovier when the question was sent from the rebels.

“Princess, there was a request for a dish from Eyllwe?” Caralina set my plate down on the table in front of me as she asked. I glanced up from the letter I was reading. Her eyes held mine as she spoke her next words slowly.

“Natalia told me you wanted to try their royal dessert.” Glee shot through my system as her words sunk in. I put the letter down and picked up my fork. I began eating the egg-tart and thought very carefully about my next step.

“I would love to try the dessert beloved by their royalty, though I would like it even more if I could taste it in there court,” I said around a mouthful of food.

“I will do my best to get the recipe, princess.” She nodded and went back to bustling about the kitchen. Kalvin was the next to leave for his day off. He would bring my message to the armorsmith in the heart of the city. From there, the message would travel to the rebel leader and hopefully, they would take the bait.

It was only a few weeks later when I heard the reply. They thanked me for confirming my knowledge and then asked the magic question. They asked what kind of information it would cost them. Wyrdmarks, I told them. I would only accept being taught to use wyrdmarks. Initially, they refused, due to them being incredibly dangerous in the hands of the wrong person. I then offered them a personal meeting with myself.

Weeks later, the princess of Eyllwe, Nehemia was reported to be coming to Rifthold within the year.


End file.
